Economy and Markets: The Week Ahead
Major U.S. indexes managed to eke out small weekly gains after stocks oscillated on conflicting news, torn between a hotter-than-expected inflation report, speculations about a possibly less-hawkish Fed, surging oil prices, and the strong beginning of the earnings season.
The earning season began on solid footing last week, with major money centers JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC) posting better-than-expected results. This week, the earnings deluge will continue with the reports from the largest Wall Street banks, as well as from other market-moving companies.
While this week investors’ attention will be mainly focused on the Q3 2023 reports, it’s important to keep an eye on the economy, as well. After the surge in Treasury yields, some Federal Reserve members have been sounding less hawkish than before, reducing the market expectations of another rate hike in the next FOMC meeting. Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak about the Fed’s economic policy in New York on Thursday; investors will be watching closely to see whether he sides with the more dovish views within the central bank.
There are also some important economic reports scheduled to be published in the next few days. These reports, as well as others that will be published in the days up to the policymakers’ next meeting on November 1st, will help shape expectations about the Federal Reserve’s policy stance, and are worth watching.
In this uncertain environment, investors are recommended to base their decisions on trustworthy data and analysis.
Upcoming Earnings and Dividend Announcements
The Q3 2023 reporting season has begun in earnest, and there is a flood of reports scheduled this week.
The most noteworthy earnings events this coming week are the reports of Netflix’s (NFLX), Tesla (TSLA), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Bank of America (BAC), Goldman Sachs (GS), Lockheed Martin (LMT), Morgan Stanley (MS), Procter & Gamble (PG), and American Express (AXP).
Companies’ reporting dates, consensus EPS forecasts, past data, analyst ratings, and price targets can be found on the TipRanks Earnings Calendar.
This week, Ex-Dividend dates are coming for the payouts of PNC Financial (PNC), EOG Resources (EOG), CVS Health (CVS), Williams-Sonoma (WSM), Colgate-Palmolive (CL), Procter & Gamble (PG), and other dividend-paying firms.
Companies’ Ex-Dividend and Dividend Payment dates, analyst ratings, and price targets can be found on the TipRanks Dividend Calendar.
Upcoming Economic Calendar Events
There are several very important reports scheduled to be published in the next few days:
» September’s Retail Sales – Tuesday, 10/17 – This report, released by the U.S. Census Bureau, measures the monetary equivalent of purchases made by consumers over a specified period. It helps economists and policymakers to assess the level of consumer demand, one of the main driving forces behind GDP growth. Thus, Retail Sales is a leading indicator, providing an outlook into the current quarter’s economic growth as well as into the inflationary factors on the side of demand.
» September’s Industrial Production – Tuesday, 10/17 – This report, released by the Federal Reserve, shows the volume of production of U.S. industries like manufacturing, mining, and utilities. Although industrial production accounts for a smaller portion of the economic activity than services, its sensitivity to consumer demand and interest rates makes it a leading indicator of GDP growth and economic performance.
» August’s Building Permits and Housing Starts – Wednesday, 10/18 – These reports provide valuable insights into the health of the housing market, as well as the economy overall, since the housing demand correlates with economic growth and consumer sentiment. Both reports are leading indicators, used by economists and analysts, among other data, to measure current demand and to estimate near-term trends in real estate, as well as in the connected industries.
Current and scheduled economic reports, Fed statements, and other releases, as well as their level of impact on stock markets, can be found on the TipRanks Economic Calendar.
